Growing Up
by Unfunny Joke
Summary: No matter how old a child gets, parents remain parents.
1. Lullaby

**A Note From Unfunny Joke:**

This little story is dedicated to Starchaser over at RBSU. It was her request for the Secret Santa exchange. I would also like to thank Sora, CoH (both from the same forum) and my sister for looking the story over and letting me know what they thought.

This is a little different from what I normally write, what with the inclusion of an original character and all. All that you need to know is that this story does indeed take place in the future. The ages and overall appearances of the characters are up to you.

Now, without further ado, I give you the story.

**Story: **Lullaby  
**By: **Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own either of the characters depicted below, and any affiliations they might have.  
**Summary: **Looking back on the past is the best way to see just how far you've come.**  
**

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* * *

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Raven slept.

She slept a relaxing, calming, restful and comfortable sleep.

Her dreams comforted her like they always did now. She was not scared, as they were no longer nightmares fuelled by the dread of her heritage. No, instead they were peaceful dreams fuelled by the heat generated by the body next to hers, and by the restful sighs that he made while dreaming beside her. They were fuelled by the knowledge of all that they had accomplished together.

It was the perfect night, filled with a quiet rarely broken by the occasional crash of a wave or flutter of a bird by the half open window… or by the cries of a baby girl.

Loud cries.

From a baby.

_Her _baby!

And with this thought process, Raven awoke. With a still young child in the house, it was a fact she was well aware of that full nights of sleep simply do not happen.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she prepared to tend to her young one. But before she could reach for her cloak, a hand pressed on her shoulders to keep her from rising.

"No Raven, it's okay. I've got this one; you can grab some more shuteye."

She stifled a yawn as she studied her husband's attempt at getting fully dressed while still half asleep.

"Are you sure Gar?"

"Yes I'm sure," The green man replied before flashing a grin. "She probably just needs to be tucked back in."

"Or fed. Or burped. Or changed." She paused slightly for effect. "Or all of the above."

He only rolled his eyes in return, a bad habit he had picked up from her over the years. "Good night Raven. I'll be back to bed as soon as I'm done. Now, if you'll excuse me, we shouldn't keep our little princess waiting."

She smiled at him as he left the room, and settled back down into the warm comforter. She'd have to thank him later, she was exhausted and even just a few extra minutes of rest was a very valuable asset to have.

She had always known that children took a lot of work and effort. She had watched over Melvin and the others many times over the years, but to have a child of your own was something that neither her nor Garfield could have ever truly prepared for.

But Rebecca was worth it. She was more than worth it.

When they had first discovered that Raven was indeed pregnant, they had both come up with a mixture of worries. These, of course, were far different than the questions about one's parenting ability that always accompanies a first child. They had more unique problems than that to worry about.

The first had to do with Garfield and his DNA. The simple fact that a man with his unstable genetic structure could even have a child was a miracle in itself, but neither of them could predict exactly what affects doing so would have. Doctors were also worried that the Sakutia virus may have been passed down as well. With Garfield being the only known survivor of the disease, it was a very distinct possibility that Rebecca could have been born with it.

But luck was on their side. Rebecca had been born perfectly healthy, and with the exception of small fangs, nothing noticeable had been given to her by her father. At a glance she seemed completely normal.

Of course, there were also worries about the other half of Rebecca's heritage. Could being one quarter demon cause the same problems for her as being half demon did for her mother?

Raven and Garfield had found out almost immediately that their daughter did in fact have very similar powers to those of Raven. At first it had started with harmless balls of black energy, almost fog like in appearance and touch. As she grew older however, Rebecca had gotten better at mimicking things around her, and due to her father's influence now enjoyed making very solid animals out of dark energy.

And to think, she was only a little over a year old. But at least nothing melted when she laughed or cried. That was a blessing both parents had been overjoyed with.

Raven yawned and turned to the empty spot next to her in the bed, putting an arm out to feel the slowly diminishing warmth. What exactly was taking that man so long? The crying had stopped quite a while ago, he really should have come back by now.

She rose slowly from the bed and draped a housecoat across her back to protect herself from the slight chill of being out from under the covers. Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and Raven headed out of the room and down the hall towards her daughter's.

Her bare feet made hardly a sound as she approached the door, which she reached for. However, before entering she heard the voice of her husband from inside, and for whatever reason she decided to not interrupt and to simply listen in on the one-sided conversation from within.

"Come on Becca, go to sleep. Please? For daddy?"

Raven could hear the giggling of her daughter clearly now, followed by more whispered pleadings from Garfield.

"Why yes, your sheep are very cute. How about we count them? No? How about a bedtime story? Do you want to hear that lullaby again? You do? Fine, but this is the last time, and then you have to go to sleep."

Raven suppressed a small laugh. Leave it to Gar to bargain with an infant.

It grew silent for a short while, until finally she could hear the sounds of whatever lullaby he had been talking about. She had to strain to hear his quiet voice through the thick door.

"_Our gem was born of a loving fire_

_Here to bring peace to all_

_With parent's care_

_That shall not tire_

_A flame that burns immortal_"

She was standing in the room by the last line and was greeted by his large grin immediately. Before she had a chance to say anything, Raven was being motioned at to keep silent. Looking towards where Garfield was pointing, she could see that Rebecca was indeed fast asleep.

The two quickly and quietly left the room to talk in the hallway.

"Always works… after a few tries." Gar said in-between a yawn. "Now, what exactly are you doing out of bed? Didn't I say I'd handle it?"

"Yes, you did." She replied. "I was just a little curious. You were taking a little longer than I had expected."

He chuckled lightly to himself in reply. "You were right Rae, it was all of the above. But still, it's nice to know you can't go a few extra minutes without me there."

"Well, if I would have known you were reciting poetic lullabies, I would have come too." Her expression stayed soft and curious. "What exactly was that anyways?"

Raven watched as his eyes looked in the distance, not focusing on anything, with memories playing in his head.

"It's something I heard a long time ago. I didn't really like the original though, and thought it might be nice to change it into something a little cheerier." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "Now let's get back to bed before the sun decides to come up and say hello."

Again she nodded, and followed beside, quickly entering the room and once again getting under the covers. With a quick kiss and a 'thank you' which Garfield probably didn't understand, she wrapped herself tightly in the bed's warmth and once more embraced gentle dreams.

And again, Raven slept.


	2. Bully

As you can see, I've decided to expand this into a collection of multiple works. They will all involve Rebecca in some way, so for all readers who dislike such original characters... you should all shy away now and read my other, Becca free, stories. Enjoy.

**Story:** Bully  
**By: **Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own either of the characters depicted below, or any affiliations they might have.  
**Summary: **Sometimes a trip to school is dreaded most by the parent.

* * *

There are a handful of phone calls that people never looked forward to. The extremes are easy to point out, either injury or death. And as both she and Garfield walked down the hallways of West Jump City Elementary School, Raven had to remind herself that in comparison to those alternatives, the phone call that she had received fifteen minutes ago was nothing to be worried about.

The secretary had been very vague about what exactly had happened. She had simply told Raven that Rebecca had gotten into some trouble and that the principal wished to speak with both parents.

Raven hadn't been, and still wasn't, quite sure what to make with that. 'Some Trouble' was a very broad term, and could mean one of a million different things. But then again, if it wasn't something important, would the school have needed to contact them?

She had no idea. Her knowledge of normal school systems was a little lacking.

Her husband on the other hand wasn't confused by the situation at all. At the very least he was amused by the news of their summons, seeming to be almost happy about it.

"This is big Rae!" He said just as they were heading to the school's main office. "First time being sent to the office is almost as important as a child's first steps!"

She shook her head as thoughts of failed parenting flooded her mind. How could he be so calm? How could he possibly be _enjoying _this?

"Really Gar? Should we get her a cake now or save that for when she's arrested for the first time?"

"Oh, definitely save the cake for when she's arrested." He laughed as he approached the secretary's desk. "Where else are we supposed to put the nail file for her great escape?"

The look that the woman at the desk was giving the two of them was more than enough to silence Raven's rebuttal. Instead, she introduced herself to the secretary and was promptly buzzed into the principal's office.

Walking inside, both Garfield and she were greeted by a tall man in a suit, tie and glasses. After shaking each of their hands the man motioned for the two to sit while he returned to his chair behind a large mahogany desk.

"Thank you both for coming on such short notice. It is wonderful to finally meet you."

Garfield returned the pleasantries with a wide smile, but Raven could only force a small grin.

"I'm sorry if I don't seem overjoyed with this meeting Mr…" She looked on the desk to spot a name plate. "Mr. Brooks. I'd rather just cut to the chase if you don't mind."

The principal coughed uncomfortably at this and tugged slightly at the striped tie he was wearing.

"Well, as it seems Mrs. Logan, during recess Rebecca came to the defence of a young boy who was being picked on by another student."

This caught Raven off guard, and by the look on Garfield's face, he wasn't quite sure what the problem was either.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Well you see… the thing is... Rebecca was a little _physical_ in her defending."

Raven could see Gar's eyebrow rise. She also saw the sparkle in his eye and the tip of his fang poking out from his mouth in a small smile.

"How physical?"

"A few bruises and a bloody nose." He pushed his glasses up his nose a little. "And an ego that is broken beyond possible repair. If you ask me, the lad was due for it. He's been a problem for just about every teacher that's had to teach him. However, we do have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence."

"We're very sorry about all of this," Hopefully if she explained things it wouldn't be that bad. "Rebecca's just a little overzealous sometimes. She tends to take things a little too far. She gets that from her father."

If Garfield had been offended, she hadn't noticed. She was too focused on the matter at hand.

"Well… as this was only her first offense the punishment isn't all that severe. She'll be staying after school for detention for the rest of the week starting tomorrow. Classes are ending soon, you can pick her up then. I trust that the two of you would rather have a talk with her tonight."

Both Garfield and she nodded in agreement as they rose from their seats. The meeting was over much more quickly than Raven had anticipated, and it hadn't gone too badly either. As they started to head to the door they were stopped by the voice of Mr. Brooks.

"Also, off the record, I think Rebecca handled herself very well. It's not everyday a girl takes on a boy four years her senior." Turning back towards the man, Raven thought she could see the same grin on his face that had also been on her husband's for most of the trip to the school. "And the black tiger that she had conjured up was probably only for show anyways."

The dam finally broke and Raven heard laughter spill from Garfield's mouth. She had to admit, the whole idea of an eight year old doing such a thing was at least a little amusing. But Rebecca still needed to be taught when taking such actions were okay, and by the looks of her husband it was going to be a very one sided conversation. But such punishments had to be accepted, no matter how proud the two were of her.


	3. Outspoken

**Story:** Outspoken  
**By: **Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Teen Titans characters.  
**Summary: **So much can be said in just a single word; much to a father's dismay.

* * *

It was a strange first word. That much Garfield could say as a certainty. But then again, it was only strange when compared to what is considered as the norm. Of course, the norm had been what Garfield wanted in the first place. 

For the last three weeks he had been barraging his daughter with attention in an attempt to get her to talk. The efforts bore no fruit however, and Rebecca remained content to simply coo and laugh at the efforts. This never deterred the father however, and he continued.

Raven on the other hand showed only minor interest in the audible ability of their child, stating that Rebecca would talk when she wanted to and only when she had something she wanted to say.

"Besides," She had added one afternoon. "The world isn't quite ready for _another _Logan to be out telling jokes."

When confronted with the fact that she herself was now a Logan, Raven simply waved the thought away, pleading innocence due to a momentary lapse of sanity.

And it was because of that minor insult that Garfield had become determined to have Rebecca say "Dada" well before she ever uttered the word "Mama". Though, after so many weeks of trying he was about ready to accept anything else as good enough, and it was with that feeling that he had started the day.

Almost immediately after breakfast Garfield scooped up little Rebecca and plopped her on his knee in the middle of the common room. Knowing full well what game was about to ensue, the child formed miniature shadow ponies around her father and giggled.

Grinning widely, Garfield began to bob his leg up and down which caused the giggling to transform to wild laughter. Good, a happy Rebecca was far more likely to talk. Hopefully it would only take mild prying on his part.

"Look out everyone! It's cowgirl Becca!" Another bout of laughter. "That's right, and her trusty steed Green the Horse! Am I a good horsy Becca? Is _Dada _a good horsy? Can you say Dada?"

"Are you still trying to get short stuff there to talk to you?"

He turned his attention to the large man walking into the room. Cyborg had evidently heard the laughter and came to play too.

"Yes Victor, he is." Raven's voice came from the other side of the room. Had she really been there the whole time? "It's bad enough he does this all day, but he's starting to take to mumbling 'dada' in his sleep. There's no escape. All I ask is for a little quiet."

Garfield huffed at his wife and turned his attention back to their daughter.

"Don't listen to them honey, dada's not crazy."

"Of course he is." Cyborg crouched down next to the child as if telling her a secret. "He'd have to be to think you'd say dada first. We all know your first word's going to be 'Victor' or 'Cyborg'"

In answer to this, Rebecca took a moment to look at both Cyborg and Garfield before turning her attention down to her father's now still knee. She started to punch at it lightly in an attempt to get the ride going again.

Garfield sighed as he began to once again bob his leg.

"You have got to be kidding me; I am not going to argue with my best friend over my child's first word."

"You're absolutely right; you should just give up the fight now."

Now sitting on the couch and attempting to read, Raven shook her head at the immaturity of the two men.

"I don't suppose you two would mind being quiet. Like I said, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and don't need to listen to you both."

Unfortunately, the request fell on deaf ears. The fact should have been unsurprising to her, she had been telling him to be quiet about the whole thing for weeks.

"You really expect her to say your name before anything else? I'm her _father_!" He flailed his left arm for emphasis while keeping his right firmly on Rebecca. "I'm a little more important than some adoptive uncle."

Cyborg faked a look of hurt before scoffing at the remark.

"Hey, I'm the coolest uncle the kid's got. Besides, I'm only trying for first word to mess with you."

"Well it's not working. Her first word's going to be _Dada_."

"Cyborg."

"Dada"

"Cy-borg"

"Da-da" They were talking more to each other than the child now.

"Cyborg!"

"Da-"

"Quiet!"

Both members of the arguing pair turned their glances towards a slightly shocked looking Raven who shook her head in reply.

"Don't look at me, though I do share the sentiment."

"Then who…" But Garfield already knew the answer, and looked down at his smiling daughter in his lap. "You have got to be kidding me…"

"Quiet!" Sure, the pronunciation was a little off, but it was unmistakable what the young girl was saying. "Quiet!"

Cyborg roared with laughter and smacked his friend on the back lightly.

"I don't envy you. Now there are _two _women in the house that'll be telling you to shut up."

Garfield shook his head and turned Rebecca around to look her in the eyes.

"There's no way she knows what she's saying. She's just repeating Raven."

Rebecca answered this thought before anyone else could by reaching her tiny hands up so they were firmly placed over her father's mouth.

"Dada quiet!"

Cyborg's laughter was louder now, and a minute chuckle could even be heard from Raven, who was now up and taking her child from her husband's arms. She looked down at her with a sly grin.

"That's my girl."

* * *

You know, I kind of want some feedback on this one so I'm going to do something I don't usually do. 

Ask for Reviews.


	4. Daddy's Little Girl

Another little jump in time for this story. Now Rebecca is saying more than just a few words, it's a shame she's a teenager, so not all of these words can be nice. I imagine this is an argument had by many families, and while I'm sure Gar is a permissive parent, he would also be very protective so as not to lose any other members of his family.

Enjoy.

**Story: **Daddy's Little Girl  
**By: **Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer: **All characters are property of their rightful owners.  
**Summary: **A girl's father really only has one true enemy. Boys.

* * *

Garfield watched as his daughter finished brushing her hair as he sat quietly in a chair. Rebecca had an awful habit of doing that in the living room just as she was about to leave. But he wasn't really interested in that at the moment. He was currently more interested in her choice of clothing. Whatever happened to dressing casual? He wasn't expecting her to don a suit of armour or anything, but a pair of sweat pants and a baggy shirt would be a nice change.

"Bye mom, bye dad." Rebecca smiled as she placed the brush she had been using on a nearby table and blew a kiss towards her parents. "I'll be back by ten thirty, and I'll be sure to say hello to Kevin for you."

Garfield tilted his head to the side and looked at his daughter with blank and questioning eyes.

"Who?"

Rebecca paused at the doorway as if hit by a brick wall before turning towards her father. She looked as if he had just said the stupidest possible thing imaginable.

"Kevin." She said again, though it still didn't really ring a bell to him. "Kevin Orbell, the guy who is taking me out tonight."

Garfield shook his head as a negative reply while the information he had just received registered into his mind.

"Taking you out?" He said each word slowly as he mulled over just exactly what that meant. "As in, a date? You're joking, right?"

Rebecca sighed in disgust as she turned her head towards Raven.

"Mom, I thought you said you'd tell him! You said he'd be okay with it!"

Raven looked to be just as in shock about the whole situation as their daughter was. Suddenly Garfield felt as if he had just become the bad guy in the current situation.

"I did." She replied evenly as she eyed her husband. "And he _was_."

He should back down. He knew that look, and he should back down. But this was his daughter, his little girl, that they were talking about and he was not about to simply give up on the matter.

"I don't seem to remember any conversation about Becca going out on a date." He rolled his eyes up into the top right corner of their sockets in an attempt to look deep in recollection. "No, that really doesn't sound like the kind of thing I'd okay."

He could tell that his daughter was furious, and if not for his wife's influence over the years would have been stating her opinion of the matter in a very loud and offensive voice. Luckily, she knew that such an attitude would not go over well with him.

"Dad," She started in a low and reasonable tone, though seething anger was apparent to anyone paying attention. "I'm fifteen years old. It's one date. Dinner and a movie and that's all."

"I don't…"

"Now, can I go? I promised I'd pick him up at eight, and it's already ten to. And remember, mom already said I could."

He turned his attention to said mother with a frown, but didn't say a word to his daughter in protest. He had lost this round and knew it. He did however let his wife know his feelings at the moment with an almost pathetic pout.

"Traitor."

"Think what you will." She replied before smiling towards Rebecca. "Run along now, I'll take care of your father. I suggest you use a rather large bird if you want to make up for lost travel time."

As if immediately forgetting her previous anger, Rebecca beamed towards her mother and rushed out the door shouting a quick "Thank you" and "I love you mom".

As soon as the door was closed however, the two parents looked towards each other in a less than warm manner. Garfield had no idea why Raven was mad at him; _she_ was the one that let their child go gallivanting off with a boy.

As if knowing what he was thinking, Raven let out a loud sigh.

"We talked about this last night Garfield." Oh, she used the whole name. He really was in trouble here. "I told you that she was going out tonight and you didn't seem to mind at all."

He scrunched his face a little trying to remember exactly what it was that she was talking about. Suddenly he remembered his wife saying something along those lines, and the simple 'alright' answer he had given her.

"Yeah well, when you said 'going out', I really didn't think it would be a date with this Kyle guy." This much was true, his answer would have been very different if he had known of that little detail.

"Kevin, Garfield. And you would have known all about it if you only would have asked. It wasn't a secret; Rebecca has been very vocal about her excitement all day."

Garfield shied his eyes away slightly at this. Had he really been missing that much about his daughter's life? He was losing ground here, time to get the ball back in his court.

"Do we even know anything about this Kevin guy?" This was a very good question. Not just any punk could be expected to come and date his baby.

Unfortunately, Raven let out another tired sigh. Apparently they did know something about Kevin. At the very least, she did. And from the sounds of it, what was known was nothing inherently bad.

"We met him last month at Rebecca's school. His family was ahead of us in line to talk to their math teacher during meet the teacher night."

"Oh yeah… I kind of remember that." In truth, he could barely remember anything about that day besides the science teacher taking a keen interest in his genetic structure. "I had a bad feeling about that kid the moment I met him. Never liked him at all."

Raven laughed slightly to herself, though Garfield could tell that it wasn't due to any kind of amusement. Somehow he had managed to dig the hole he was in a little bit deeper.

"Really? Not at all?" She was looking at him quite incredulously. "I suppose that's why you were laughing and joking with him the moment he mentioned that you were his favourite super hero of all time."

He scoffed at the remark, dismissing it as if it were nothing at all.

"Of course he would say something like that. He was trying to butter me up so I wouldn't suspect he was trying to take our daughter from us."

"What are you talking about?" Raven asked exasperated. Suddenly didn't seem quite so mad now. "Is that what you're worried about? It's only a date. She is growing up you know, and there isn't a whole lot that the two of us can do to stop it. We might as well just get used to the idea."

"So, you aren't completely happy about this either, huh?" He paused and scratched the tip of his ear for a moment. "I know she's growing up, but does she have to grow up quite so fast?"

"I'm fairly certain that she feels that she isn't growing up fast enough." Raven walked quietly across the room and sat gently on the armrest of the seat her husband currently occupied. "Either way, we have to let her. We'll just have to watch from a distance to make sure she's okay. But you have to realize that the odd date isn't going to take her away from us."

"Easy for you to say, she loves you." He said recalling that Rebecca had neglected to say as much to him when she had left.

Raven placed a hand on his arm for comfort.

"She was angry. When I'm mad at you I do the same thing, but you still know I love you."

"That's true; she is a lot like you when she's angry." He laughed slightly. "I guess that's why I'm so terrible at dealing with her when she's mad."

Raven just rolled her eyes, which was good. That meant that she wasn't quite as mad as she had been.

"So," She started, looking down at him from her perch on the armrest. "Are you going to stop and let Rebecca have this one?"

He sighed as he wrapped an arm around his wife's body. He really had no choice in the matter. Raven was right, Becca was growing up whether he liked it or not and he had to simply accept it. Besides, she was only fifteen; it wasn't like she was off getting married or anything. And he trusted her judgment well enough. If she thought Kevin was alright, then perhaps he was.

"Alright, I'll call it a truce. However," He lowered his voice slightly. "If he ever makes her cry, I won't be responsible for my actions."

In response, Raven simply leaned into his embrace.

"Gar, if he makes her cry, I'll hold him down for you."


	5. Career Day

So here we are. The first story of the bunch to involve Becca's point of view. Hope you like it. The next few chapters will probably jump to a much different set of times than High School, though we will return to her teenage years sooner or later.

Anyways, on with the show. Drop a review off if you feel so inclined.

**Story:** Career Day  
**By:** Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer:** All characters are property of their rightful owners.  
**Summary:** Not all people dislike going into the family business.

* * *

The wind blew through Rebecca's hair as she soared high above the buildings of Jump City. She was currently clinging to the back of a rather large manifestation of a Pteranodon, and making very good time back towards her home. She had originally planned on walking home from school, but something unexpected had come up and now she was in more of a hurry.

Mostly she hoped that her parents had not been watching the news or listening to the radio. She also hoped that none of her parent's friends had contacted them about what had happened. This was something she really wanted to tell them herself.

Her house approached quickly, as did the looming presence of Titan's Tower which was very much like a second home to her. At this time of day however, both her mother and father would be at the house waiting for her to return, so Rebecca concentrated on having her flying beast land in her front yard. Luckily, the neighbours and local animals had gotten used to all kinds of strange happenings over the years.

After landing, the dinosaur was dismissed with a quick wave of a hand, and Rebecca entered the door and into the front foyer of the home. She announced her presence to the household and discovered that she was not surrounded or barraged with questions about what had happened. This was a very good thing… she could have some fun with this before the inevitable lecture.

After removing her shoes and dropping off her backpack, Rebecca turned into the living room to see both of her parents sitting on the couch. Her father was luckily watching a nature documentary while her mother sat at the computer paying the month's allotment of bills.

Both of her parents greeted her with a hello, and her dad continued on by asking her how her day had gone. This was a very good question, one that needed to be answered in excruciating detail.

"Not all that bad, really. I handed in that science project as soon as I walked in the door, so that's out of the way. Talk about a weight off my shoulders, I had to work my butt off on that for two weeks. I don't know what I'll do if I don't get a good grade on it."

Her father nodded his head as he continued to watch his show, and her mother only seemed to be paying half attention. Good, now to add in something that didn't matter at all, and then drop the bomb and see what kind of reaction she got.

"Anyways, my other classes went well… though Jeff got the male lead part in that play I'm trying out for. I know I shouldn't care 'cause I'm not going for that part… but if I do get the one I'm auditioning for, I don't really think the two of us will work that well together."

Actually, she barely knew Jeff and didn't really care that he had gotten the part. If anything, it would be a good opportunity to get to know someone new. But the plan had worked, and it seemed as if her parents were only paying the slightest bit of attention to her.

"So then school's done and I decide to walk home, and can you guess what happens? A man is robbing the bank right when I'm walking down the street. He runs right out of the door and in front of me. So I stopped him and gave him over to the police before I got home. Weird, huh? What's for supper?"

All activity at the computer had ceased almost as soon as the word 'robbing' had been uttered from Rebecca's mouth. The same thing could be said about her father's brain.

"I'm ordering out in about an hour. Do you want pizza or Chinese, because I could go… for… either. What was that last part again?" She could almost hear the gears turning.

"I ask what was for supper." She smiled from ear to ear in an effort to keep from laughing. "Pizza sounds good."

"Rebecca Logan, you are well aware of what your father meant." Her mother was looking straight into her eyes, obviously not finding any humour in the situation. "What exactly happened? And why?"

Coughing from the couch pulled Rebecca's attention back towards her dad. He was acting surprisingly calm. It was a shame really, she had been hoping for a much bigger reaction.

"Becca, honey… what your mom is trying to say is… Are you _crazy?!_" Bingo. Here was the reaction she had been expecting. "You could have been killed! Who knows what could have happened to you!"

"Yes, very tactful Garfield, thank you."

"Happened to me?" Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty capable of defending myself."

To prove her point she concentrated, forming a growling wolf at her side out of shadow. She kept it there for a brief moment before reaching down to scratch its ears as it vanished.

"We know that Rebecca," And indeed, her mother would know that. She was the one that Rebecca inherited her powers from. "But we worry about you."

"Besides, you're still a kid. You don't have to go off saving the day."

"Come on dad, you're telling me I'm not old enough to be a superhero?" Rebecca laughed openly at that. He had to be joking right? "And this is coming from someone who saved the world _how_ many times before puberty?"

Her father paused and turned to her mother for support. He was greeted with a raised eyebrow, an obvious sign that they really couldn't say anything about what had happened. There seemed to be an entire conversation going on between the two, all while not a single word was said. She was always amazed at how her mom and dad could communicate with simple looks and gestures.

"Fine," He sighed, and Rebecca flashed a lovely grin in response.

"Far be it for us to be hypocrites." Her mother was saying exactly what Rebecca had been waiting for. "If you think you're ready, we'll support you."

"But," They were really getting into a serious good cop bad cop routine. "You will be going to the tower and training with Nightwing every day. It is going to be very hard. You better take this seriously. Oh, and you will finish the rest of the school year and graduate before making any supervillain archenemies."

He was smiling at her by the end, though Rebecca could tell that he was completely serious about everything he had said. She nodded her agreement. It all made sense really. No sense jumping into the fray of things when there was only a few months left of school. She could wait at least that much longer… so long as nobody tried to rob a bank on her rout home.

The consensus was made, and everything seemed to quiet down. Her mother seemed satisfied, almost as if she had expected this day to come. Her father had picked up the phone and quickly ordered their dinner before looking back up at her.

"So? What are we going to call you?"

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion. What was he on about?

"What alias are we going to call you? We can't simply go around calling you Rebecca when you're on the field of battle, now can we?"

"I haven't really put too much thought into it."

"Well… you might want to. When your gimmick involves animals, you really have slim pickings."

"I'll get right on that, just as soon as I shower and change. Call me when supper gets here. Oh, and put a tape in. I should be on the news tonight."

And so she turned and left with a smile on her face. In a few months she'd be out doing what she was meant to do. Just enough time to graduate, get a uniform and get a name. Especially the name. Her father was right, names were hard, and there was no way she was going to go around calling herself Beast Girl.


	6. Memorizing Lines

Okay guys, a little back story on this one. The play mentioned is real; it is called _Journey to the Center of Christmas_ and it is amazing. In fact, I played the part of the professor way back when I was in grade five. Yep… that was a good eleven or so years ago. That's how memorable it is.

Anyways, on with the show.

**Story:** Memorizing Lines  
**By:** Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer:** All characters are property of their rightful owners.  
**Summary:** Telling a child what you think about their work is difficult if you don't understand it.

* * *

Raven had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Well, that was only a partial truth. She knew that she was sitting in a very uncomfortable plastic chair next to her husband. She also knew that she was watching their daughter up on a rather large stage, singing a song about finding the Christmas spirit, or something along those lines. Schools and their plays, if they had to do one for the holiday couldn't it have been A Christmas Carol?

But still, she was very proud of her daughter. Rebecca had gotten a very large part, which included many songs and many lines to memorize. And while she understood that this was very important for her daughter, Raven simply didn't 'get' the play.

What she didn't comprehend was the plot, really. Was there even a plot at all? Should she even be expecting a classical masterpiece from elementary school children?

Probably not, but one could always dream.

Looking back at it now, Rebecca had wisely chosen to seek her father's help in the whole matter. Feel good musical plays about Christmas were definitely not her forte.

"Isn't this great Raven?" Her husband asked, with his eyes firmly glued to their video camera's screen, recording as yet another song about the holiday began. "She's doing such a great job!"

"Yes," Raven agreed truthfully. "And she's very adorable in… whatever that thing is she's wearing."

"What, the Star Trek outfit?"

Is that what that was? She knew she had recognized it somewhere. Probably from one of her slight glances towards the television when Garfield was watching the sci-fi channel.

"And what exactly does that have to do with Christmas?"

He seemed to pause at that question, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Seriously, Raven? Haven't you been paying attention at all? Didn't you read the script?"

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise." This was true, a play was more enjoyable the first time you saw it if you didn't already know the plot. "And I have been paying attention, but this is really more your kind of entertainment than it is mine. I don't understand it."

"What's to get?" Was he really being serious? The whole play was ridiculous. "Look, Rebecca and those other two kids are aliens. They don't know what's going on-"

"You don't say…"

"Quiet you." He shushed her while she simply rolled her eyes. "The faster I explain, the sooner we go back to watching Becca."

"Whatever, I didn't ask for an explanation." She really hadn't, though she was thankful. Rebecca was going to be full of questions at the end it all… and she was going to expect answers.

"Anyways, the aliens want to know what all the hubbub is about, 'cause from what they can tell Christmas is just a day where people go crazy and spend lots of money on stupid things."

Raven could only imagine the look on her face. As little sense as this play made, it did speak to her on _some _levels.

"So, who's that child with the cane they're talking to?" She asked, trying to soak in as much as possible.

"That's Professor J. Ingle Belle." Garfield grinned widely, obviously a fan of the pun. "He's the guy that's known for knowing all there is to know about the holiday. So, obviously the aliens ask him about it."

"Obviously." She shook her head. "And then they all learn a valuable lesson about good will towards men and all that, right?"

Her husband nodded his head, a smile on his face.

"Yep."

"And the play itself is completely logical to you?"

"Why no Spock, I don't think it's logical in the least." Raven had to smile just a little at that one; even she knew she had walked right into it. "It's a children's musical about aliens beaming down to Earth to chat up some professor about a holiday… I'm pretty sure logic went on vacation somewhere after the first song. This is just about fun. That's it, nothing more, just fun."

"I suppose I can accept that, and I really have enjoyed watching her up there. For what it is, she has done a wonderful job."

Her husband nodded his agreement while turning full attention back to the video camera.

"Yep, and if she wants specifics, I can always bail you out." He laughed as he talked, making Raven only assume what possible things he would say were her favourite parts.

"Thanks for the offer Garfield," She adjusted herself in her seat in order to see the stage a little better. "But I don't think I'll need your assistance. If Rebecca asks what my favourite part was, I'll tell her the truth."

"And that was what, the song about commercialism?"

"No, she was my favourite part, and I'm sure she'll be ecstatic with that answer."


	7. Mirror

Somebody killed the funny. I figure thirteen is a good age to introduce your child to emotional doppelgangers of yourself, right?

Right.

**Story:** Mirror  
**By:** Shawn "The Unfunny Joke" Wheeler  
**Disclaimer:** All characters are property of their rightful owners.  
**Summary:** And you thought your mom was hard to shop for.

* * *

It had been an interesting day, when she had met them. The journey alone was enough adventure to last her until her fourteenth birthday.

She had screamed. It was caused more from surprise than from any actual fear; mostly at any rate. Either way, she had blamed her parents; vortexes of doom tend to be the kind of thing that people warn their children about.

She had always assumed the mirror to be special, maybe even magic in some form. But _that, _that was something altogether different from anything she had ever expected.

"You okay Rebecca?" She remembered turning to look at her father's green face. "That first step never gets any easier."

"No kidding"

First step, ha. They had both fallen at least fifteen feet through the air and onto solid rock. It was remarkable that neither of them had broken any bones. And then, there they were, smack dab in the middle of… somewhere. It looked almost as if Rod Serling would suddenly show up.

The first thing she asked was where they were. It was a good question, or at least she thought it was. If they were going to be lost, she would at least have liked to know as much.

Her second question, asked without waiting for the first's answer was where her mother had gone.

Her answer was laughter, loud fits of laughter as if she had said the funniest thing imaginable. She hadn't really expected that. Obviously, she had thought, her father had gone insane.

More so.

"Becca," His laughter died down to a chuckle. "Those questions are so loaded, they'll have a hangover for a week."

She just looked at him in response, wearing that small hint of a frown that her mother had shown her quite some years before. It almost always got her father to cut to the chase.

But not that day. He had looked at her and shook his head, stating that he was not going to ruin the surprise. He had also stated that her mother was not overly fond of coming here with other people, but would still show up sooner or later, probably to take them home.

Needless to say, this had not answered a single question in the young girl's mind. The only bit of comfort that she had was that her father seemed to know what he was doing, apparently having been to the place before. This did little to ease her mind, as the only other bit of information she could squeeze out of her father was that 'they' were bugging her mother to finally meet her and that both of her parents thought that she was now mature enough to understand it.

This only served to further confuse her.

And then she met 'them'.

It had started with a hug rivalling one from her Aunt Kori. This was immediately followed by a chorus of replies ranging from sullen apologies to laughter. Each and every voice seemed altogether familiar, and at the same time completely alien to her. It wasn't until she could glimpse past her hugger's shoulders that she could truly see what was going on.

It was remarkable really, and it took more than a few seconds for exactly what she was seeing to truly register inside her mind. In front of her had stood easily a half dozen clones of her mother, each with a different colour cloak wrapped around their body, each looking at her, some with tears in their eyes.

To her credit, Rebecca did not faint as she had later learned her father did on his first time through the looking glass. Instead she had calmly inspected each of the clones before whispering to her father for either answers or assistance in running away.

Thankfully, what she had gotten was answers. Those people _were _her mother, each a fragment of her personality as a whole. In fact, the place they had travelled to was a physical representation of her mother's mind. So the mirror had been magic after all, which was easy enough to believe.

She found these many sides of her mother very interesting, as it was a very rare thing to see pure emotion in anyone, let alone _the_ Raven.

The happy one, the copy of her mother that had hugged her with such force, never left her or her father's side. Constantly cracking jokes and enjoying the company. Her mother was far from being unhappy in her day to day life, but it was still a wonderful and contagious thing to witness.

Countering this copy was a peculiar and insecure Raven in grey, who spent much time apologising to either her daughter or husband for various inconsequential wrongs done to them throughout the years.

A mother in green often steered the conversation back to Rebecca and her powers, wondering when she was going to start learning how to fight using them.

A mother clad in yellow, wearing a pair of glasses continually asked about school and possible majors to take in university.

A mother wearing orange, who had secretly pulled her to the side informing her that she never had to clean her room again.

A mother in a cloak as red as blood; staring and waiting, never to say a single word for the entirety of the time spent there.

The day was spent conversing, or simply being around each of them. Getting to know just exactly what made her mother tick. It was a fun experience, and it wasn't until her actual mother came to return them to the physical realm that Rebecca had discover just how long she and her father had been gone.

But she would return. Not too often, as she did not want to over tax her mother's mind, but from time to time she would visit. If nothing else, it was the perfect way for her mother and herself to bond.


	8. Seeing Red

Raven sat on the couch in the sitting room of the two bedroom house she called home, turning silently through the pages of the morning paper. It was a slow news day, and Raven found herself flipping through, not so much reading as she was going through a morning routine. It was a very nice spring morning, the rain they had gotten the previous night had stopped, and now the birds outside the window sang happily in the morning sunlight.

It was peaceful. Nice. Quiet.

And then she heard a loud shriek come from the bathroom.

"So much for that." She muttered quietly to herself, before speaking louder so her voice would carry. "Is that you Gar? Is everything okay?"

She was answered by the sounds of heavy footsteps and cursing coming towards her from down the hall. Raven looked up to see what all the commotion was about, and had to pause for a moment to keep herself from laughing. Years of practiced control almost seemed to be leading up to this test of her strength. She nearly failed.

"You're red." She stated. And indeed he was. Standing, still somewhat wet and wrapped in a towel, stood her husband and from the top of his head, to the tip of his toes his skin and hair were no longer the green she had come to expect but instead a very bright red.

"Yes Raven, I had noticed that. Thank you."

"You look silly."

"Again, thank you." He groaned to her. "I guess you think this is funny then, dying me red?"

"Yes love, moderately so."

Garfield looked down at his hands, inspecting the red colour, wincing.

"This is going to take _forever_ to get out Raven." He whined. "I can't believe you'd do something like this, you always say you're above this kind of childish thing."

"Wait a second," She answered. "You think _I_ did that to you? Did the dye soak into your brain? You should know better than that."

"Well if it wasn't you, than who? Dick? Vic? Neither one of them have been over to visit the house in weeks!" He was getting worked up, and Raven had a feeling that even without the dye, his face would be a shade of red right now. "For almost a month, the only people to step foot in this house have been you, me and..."

He stood there, eyes wide, looking straight ahead as if having seen a ghost.

"REBECCA LOGAN YOU GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The quick, light patter of feet could be heard, as their fourteen year old daughter came trouncing into the living room.

"Hey dad, you okay? You look embarrassed." She grinned.

Raven watched as Garfield's eyes buried their gaze into Rebecca. Studying her, as if trying to figure out the best way to tackle the situation. He did so for minutes on end, not saying a word. Becca's smile faded as time went on, and soon she began to look worried, realizing that perhaps she had gotten herself into a bit of trouble.

Finally, Garfield's studying came to an end, and he began to slowly walk towards his daughter.

"YOU!"

Rebecca took a step back. "Look Dad, I'm sorry I-"

"YOU!"

"You have to understand, I thought you'd find it fu-"

"YOU!" He reached forward, enveloping her into a large hug, beginning to laugh. "ARE MY DAUGHTER!"

Oh lord, Raven was afraid of that. This was the last thing she needed, another one.

"So... am I in trouble dad?" Becca seemed to not know what to make of it.

"A little, but I'm also proud of you. Pulling one over on me means you have serious potential." He beamed as only a proud father can. "I think it's time we team up and see what kind of wars we can start!"

Her daughter giggled with excitement just as Raven was mentally slamming her head against a brick wall. She desperately needed to set some ground rules.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat. "I'm all for daughter daddy bonding, I am, but if you're going to be getting into prank wars, leave me out of it. I want nothing to do with any of them."

"No problem mom," Becca smiled. " You're totally the Switzerland of our prank UN."

"Why doesn't that fill me with confidence?" She asked, before turning back to her husband. "You should really go back into the shower and see if you can wash any of that off of you. You really do look absolutely ridiculous in that colour."

Blushing, he nodded in agreement and turned around to take a few more showers for the morning.

At least... she _thought_ he was blushing.


	9. Sweet 16

Garfield Logan sat in his favourite chair, leaning back into it relaxing with a content smile on his face and the newspaper comics section in his hands. It was the first day of the weekend, one of his first without Raven home in a long time. He loved her of course, and would miss her while she was gone, but at the same time he was reveling at the thought of being home alone.

"Daddy? I'm back from school."

Okay, so not technically home alone any more. With a smile on his face, he lowered the paper from eye level and glanced in the direction of his voice. Rebecca walked in, dropping her backpack on the floor before walking into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator. Being fifteen, and not for much longer at that, Garfield assumed that she'd be away with friends for most of the weekend. Seeing her home so early was actually kind of a shock.

"Hey Becca, how was school? I figured you'd have gone over to Molly's like you usually do on Fridays, did you have a fight or something?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that dad." She called from the other room. Garfield could distinctly hear the opening of a soda can and the closing sound of the fridge. "Just figured with mom gone to visit with Aunt Kori, that you and I could have a little daughter dad time this weekend."

With that said, she bound into the room with a large toothy grin. Setting her drink on the table, she then jumped onto Gar's lap and gave him an extremely tight hug and kiss on the cheek. Of course. She wanted something.

"Okay Bec," Gar said with a laugh. "What are you up to?"

To her credit she opened her mouth in feigned shock. She _was_ a Logan after all.

"Why daddy, I am sure I have no idea what it is you mean by that."

"Well let's see here," He responded, lifting his hand up to count on his fingers. "First, you never call me Daddy that often unless you're in trouble or you want something. Second, there wasn't a single contraction in that entire last sentence, something you do when you're guilty. Third, when was the last time a fifteen year old wanted to spend the whole weekend with her dad?"

"I'm sixteen next week you know."

"Oh, so that's it." He laughed to himself, he really should have seen this coming. It's something _he_ would have tried to pull at her age if given the chance. "Okay little lady, hit me, what do you want for your birthday that requires buttering me up?"

He noticed that she seemed only embarrassed for a moment before digging deep, burying it and going back to business.

"I would like a car." She paused, looked at him and smiled even harder. "Please?"

He stared for a moment confused.

"A car? Really?"

He noticed her face seemed to fall a bit at that.

"Yes dad, a car." She had gotten back up and taken her own seat across from him. Hands folded in her lap, staring at him for a positive reaction.

"You can fly." He shook his head. That seemed like a familiar argument. "Do you really need a car?"

"I don't _need _ a car, no." Points for honesty. "But I would _Like_ a car. I'm one of the older people in my little social circle, and I would like to be able to offer myself as transportation without having to hurl them through the air hundreds of feet up. Plus, you know... it'd be cool."

"I don't know Becca..." Garfield began to stroke his chin, pretending to think long and hard about it. "I'll have to talk with your mother about it, but I'll see what I can do."

"Come on dad be reson-" She stopped abruptly, realizing what he had just said to her. "Do you mean that? Really?Oh _Thank You!_"

And he found himself enveloped in an even stronger hug.

"I have to go tell Molly!" She got up and ran towards the door. "I'll be home for dinner! I love you!"

And with that, she was gone. So much for daddy daughter bonding. Oh well, he'd rope her into something when she got home.

He smiled to himself, knowing that he'd get to look like quite the hero to his daughter for at least the next month, and all for braving a conversation with Raven where he would have to convince his wife that such a present was a good idea.

Honestly, it wasn't going to be a hard conversation. They had already talked about her upcoming birthday, and had both agreed that they were going to go above and beyond what they normally did on the occasion. A car would be about the right level of spoiled, so long as it was reasonable priced and insured.

Besides, Rebecca was turning sixteen. And sweet sixteens were rare occurrences sometimes.


End file.
